This invention relates in general to over-the-top (OTT) media delivery and more specifically to managing multi-source streaming media.
Content providers (CPs) typically create content (e.g., movies, television shows, webcasts, etc.) and license the distribution rights to network service providers, e.g., mobile network operators (MNOs) and multiple system operators (MSOs). There is a clear delineation between content production and content distribution in this model. The move toward Web-based delivery of content, over the public Internet, has shifted the paradigm for content delivery. Traditional service provider broadcast networks are being bypassed, and content publishers, content aggregators, and content service providers (all referred to herein as content providers) deliver content directly to consumers using generic data channels. This new paradigm, a non-broadcast, non-streaming approach which uses generic on-demand data connections rather than legacy multicast distribution infrastructure, is referred to as over-the-top or OTT delivery. OTT delivery affords greater control to CPs, but requires the CPs to manage content distribution. CPs may utilize content delivery networks (CDNs) to provide a distribution channel for OTT delivery. CDNs may be run by MNOs or MSOs, or by independent network service providers.